1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods, systems and computer program products for notifying a user of an event via voice notifications or other notification methods depending on the user's dynamic circumstances.
2. Background and Related Art
Access to relevant information is essential to the decision making process. Computer networks such as the Internet have revolutionized the way people access information. For example, when using an Internet-enabled computing device, one can access information on an almost unlimited variety of subjects. The proliferation of such computing devices has resulted in this modem era being often termed “the information age”. Conventional information searches are “synchronous” in that one obtains the information only after a synchronous request for the information.
Often, it is desirable to know immediately when something occurs, without having to navigate to the information source, and without having to make a synchronous request for the information. This is possible using conventional notification technology. Notification technology involves a user subscribing to notifications regarding a certain event. Later, if the event occurs, a notification is dispatched to the user indicating that the event occurred. Notification technology is useful when a user is interested in knowing of a certain event in a timely manner, without having to constantly navigate to the information source at frequent intervals.
There are a variety of conventional notification techniques, typically involving some form of visual notification. For example, when using a telephone network to send a notification to a mobile device, a notification may take the form of one or more related Short Text Message (SMS) messages. This notification may include text information that typically represents information regarding the event. Another type of notification is the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) HyperText Markup Language (HTML) text push notification, which may also be used to send text notifications, as welt as corresponding layout information, to mobile devices.
Often, certain notification techniques may be less appropriate depending on the user's circumstances. For example, if a user is driving a car, it may be less effective to simply display a text notification assembled from SMS messages. Viewing the notification would require that the user turn his attention from driving. In that case, speaking the notification may be the most appropriate notification method. Therefore, what are desired are methods, systems, and computer program products for notifying a user via voice notifications, or other notifications as appropriate for the user's circumstances.